Black Panther has made a cultural impact in the past two weeks since its release. It has been the highest rated Blockbuster for the second week running and has almost met the billion-dollar box office mark.

Black Panther has become a new household name for Marvel while also making history. The film itself is a remarkable, beautiful piece of work with anintense storyline, dialogues that will be forever quoted and remembered, and special effects that will leave your jaw dropping. But of course, we cannot forget the film’s soundtrack. This music helps take you into the land of Wakanda. With tribal drums and African chants, the music itself makes you want to cross your arms against your chest and scream “WAKANDA FOREVER!!!!”

The genius behind the film’s score is Ludwig Goransson, who recently won a Grammy for his work on Childish Gambino’s album Redbone.

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When Ryan Coogler, the director of the film, approached Goransson about creating the music for Black Panther, Goransson immediately packed his bag and took a trip to the Motherland—i.e. Africa. There he collected rhythms and melodies by meeting with Babaa Maal, a Senegalese singer and guitarist. Goransson followed Maal on his tour of Africa [?] and was inspired by Maal’s ceremonial outcall. During his research for the score, Goransson also surrounded himself with griots (West African historians who tell oral stories through poem and music).

What stands out in Goransson’s work on Black Panther’s score is his incorporation of modern instrumentation with the traditional talking drum, which givesWakanda a distinct sound. Ludwig, himself, said, “The most difficult part is that as soon as you put production and orchestra on top of African music, it doesn’t sound African anymore. The challenge was incorporating these things and making them still feel African.” Goransson was especially interested in using the talking drum for a specific part of the film. In this cue, Goransson uses six players on the talking drum and a solo voice high in the mix. Additionally, another talking drum chants , “T’Challa.”

Without a doubt, Goransson was able to create the perfect soundscape for an imaginary nation. So much so, in fact, that you almost believe Wakanda is a real place. As I’ve shown here, the music of Black Panther is just as important as the film itself. In my opinion, Goransson has created one of the best soundscapes on Disney since Lion King (1994).